Fig. 1

The chronological change of MI progression. The progression of MI following myocardial ischemia involves three phases. The inflammatory phase occurs 1 to 4 days after the myocardium becomes ischemic. The proliferative phase then follows and lasts for 3 to 4 weeks after MI. Lastly, the myocardium become repaired and remodeled in the healing phase at 2 to 6 weeks of MI progression. Different cell death mechanisms occur throughout the disease progression. Cardiomyocyte apoptosis could be demonstrated at as early as 2 h following MI and remains detectable up to 12 weeks. The autophagy machinery is upregulated within 1 to 3 days after MI in the rat models. At 1 week following MI, the autophagic flux becomes impaired and necroptosis emerges. Cardiomyocyte necroptosis is persistently increased up to 12 weeks in an experimental model. The progressive death of cardiomyocyte is responsible for deterioration of cardiac contractile function